Especially for flipping, I bet you can find a diamond in the rough out there. 

Yes, there will be more investors that foolishly lose their money but I bet that there will be a far greater number of people who benefit from the rule.

If I ever buy in the L.A. market you can bet I would hire her again as my agent. 

@Michael J Martinez  I think your smartest bet would be to talk to a couple banks about a HELOC and about a new mortgage.

Your best bet is to sit down with a loan officer and discuss your plans  - they will be able to tell  exactly what you can and cannot do  - you may also want to consider getting prequalified so you know how much you can buy and what your payments would be - this is especially useful in running your numbers to see if a property will cash flow or not.

Move that profit to the asset column for the next deal. 

Bet you a Coke they can't.Treat this property as if you were buying it off the MLS because that is exactly what you would be doing.  

This why vetting upfront is so important.On the other hand, a larger contractor may have real assets in the company or even a reputation that they want to protect so they want to find away to avoid getting into legals which waste time and money for them.With respect to contract size, in reality anything under 100K is not worth a full blown lawsuit as the legals will eat you alive even if you win; small claims court may be your best bet if you are OK managing the process or maybe using a paralegal.On the emotional side, I strongly urge you to put that aside.

I think Hayward is a good bet. 

I would think that would be your best bet.